Re: Let's Play! Utena, Round 3: The Path Before Us Has Been Prepared

Well, this section was... interesting. And took a lot longer than I expected it to.

D-ko:Juri-san invited me and all,so maybe I should go check out the Fencing Club.

D-ko:What the...But when I came here yesterday, wasn't the chalk-white fencing hall here?What on earth did I see yesterday?My father, and the chairman both talked about it, but...Did I just see it in a dream?I wonder if all that stuff with Chigusa-san was just part of a dream, too...I don't understand. I don't understand!

What's not to understand? You're stark, raving mad.

Juri:Next!Next!Next!

[sounds of people practicing fencing.]

D-ko:I asked around, and...I guess this is the real fencing hall?

[footsteps]

D-ko:Ah, someone's coming.

Member: (female)Oh, can I help you?

D-ko:Umm... would this happen to be the Fencing Club?

Member:That's right.

D-ko:Maybe I misunderstood.About the chalk-white fencing hall, and meeting Chigusa-san...

Member:Are you visiting?Or did you want to join?

D-ko:Oh, um... I thought I'd just come and watch.

Member:Captain, we have a visitor!

Juri:You're... the new student who just moved into the East Dorm?

D-ko:Yes. My name's Kageno.

Juri:Do you have any interest in fencing?

D-ko:Yes. Because my parents used to do it.

Juri:Oh...?Hey! Get this girl a suit and a saber!

D-ko:Huh? So soon?

Juri:Putting things into practice and moving your body is the best way to learn.You can choose your partner.Of course, feel free to choose me, as well.

D-ko:...that's what she said, but who should I choose?

CHOICE:Fight against Juri (+2 JURI)Fight against Miki (+1 MIKI)Turn down the offer (return to other options)

All of you at once! Bring it on!

...well, okay, just Miki will be fine.

D-ko:Then, could I practice with Miki-kun?

Juri:Sure.Hey, Mickey. You've been called out.Come be her partner.

Miki:Okay.

(A little later. Sounds of sparring.)

D-ko:I can't even touch him.Is Miki-kun really good, or am I just bad at this...?(But I'm not going to get frustrated.I'll attack him with everything I've got!)Doryaaaaaaa!

(An impact of sword on sword. A thump. Someone runs up.)

Miki:Are you alright!?Sorry, I really...

D-ko:Thank you.

Miki:Huh?

D-ko:For just a moment, you really went all out.

Miki:Ah, no, that's...

D-ko:Just as I'd expect from you, Miki-kun!You're really good.I want to be like you, too.

Miki:(Maybe you can.Your last attack there made me shiver a little.)

D-ko:Just a little?

Miki:Haha, no, a lot.

D-ko:(laughs)

Miki:(laughs)Are you really okay? Your foot looks a little swollen.

D-ko:No, I'm fine. It's just... oww!

Miki:Look, don't be unreasonable.Captain, it looks like she hurt her foot,so I'm going to take her to the nurse's office.

Juri:Okay, got it.

Miki:Come on, let's go....well, actually, it looks like it would be tough for you to walk in your condition.

D-ko:No, don't worry about it. I'll be fine.

Miki:You shouldn't put any more stress on it.Kageno-san, excuse me.Upsy-daisy!

D-ko:Ah!?H, hey... suddenly carrying me on his back is...Hey, just a...He looks really slender, but I guess he's a boy after all.And I guess I'm pretty light...Still, it's kind of cool.

Yeah, D-ko... it's not so much that Miki is a strong, manly man as that you're a borderline anorexic who skips lunch and then tries to exercise heavily.

+1 MIKI

D-ko:Okay, it's fine...You can just leave me off here.

Miki:No, I'll take you the whole way.We want to take care of that injury, after all.

D-ko:It looks like the nurse isn't here.

Miki:Yeah... but don't worry.If it's just a sprain, I should be able to treat it.

D-ko:Thanks. Seriously, Miki-kun, thank you very...

(From elsewhere, the sound of a slap.)

Kozue:(Aren't you full of yourself!Don't misunderstand.Just because there's nobody else arounddoesn't mean you can come at me like a dog in heat.)

Boy:Man, what the hell? A girl like you, calling it off now?(Isn't it weird, the way you always go "big brother, big brother"?)

Kozue:Getting so worked up just because things don't go the way you want...how shameful.This is why I hate children.

(the boy stomps out)

Oh god, I think the boy was implying that Kozue cries out "big brother" while she's getting it on.

(Incidentally... Kozue uses "aniki" to refer to Miki when she's talking to other people. It's a much less polite and exalted word than Nanami's "oniisama". To his face, she just calls him Miki.)

D-ko:W, who's that girl?And her blouse is all disheveled, how embarrassing......Huh?She looks just like Miki-kun!I mean, she looks like a girl,but if they switched clothes they'd be indistinguishable.Yeah... I guess Miki-kun is really cute, just like a girl!(I see it now.)

Miki:Kozue!?What are you doing in a place like...

Kozue: (rather brusquely)It has nothing to do with you, Miki.

Miki:It seems you haven't been coming to class much recently, either.A teacher talked to me about it the day before yesterday.

Kozue:You're with a girl?(Are you here for some action yourself, Miki?)

Miki:N, don't be foolish, this is...

Kozue:It looks like I'm getting in the way, so I'll take off.Take your time.

(she leaves)

Miki:H, hey...!

D-ko:Man, what an awkward atmosphere...I've got to say something to break it.Hey, Miki-kun. Who was that just now?

Miki:Ah... my younger twin sister, Kozue.

D-ko:Twins... I thought you looked a lot alike.

Miki:I'm sorry. That my sister was so rude.

D-ko:No, don't worry about it.But, though your faces are similar,it seems like you have really different personalities, huh?

Miki:She didn't used to be this difficult.But before I knew it...

D-ko:W, well, she's probably just going through a rebellious phase.I also had a period where I just lashed out at the people around me.I'd come home late for no reason, and make my parents worry, and stuff.Heh, I was so young then...

Miki:(laughs)

D-ko:What's so funny?

Miki:"I was so young then," you say...but sempai, aren't you only fourteen years old?

D-ko:Oh? But I'm still a year older than you, Miki-kun.So you should listen to your big sis.

Miki:Hahaha, okay, okay.

Wow. D-ko actually succeeded in defusing an extremely awkward social situation. There's hope for her yet!

Re: Let's Play! Utena, Round 3: The Path Before Us Has Been Prepared

Sex AND violence. Oh Kozue, you crazy hot slut .

This is also our first of many many trips to the nurses office. In the last games we've returned after being socked in the stomach during soccer, having eaten chocolate sauce with a tumb tack in it and being thrown down a flight of stairs by Kozue.

I wonder what that boy must have done to get Kozue so pissed . And I am extremely amused that Kozue cries out "big brother" during sex. Amused and somewhat icked out.

EDIT: What's the significance of her calling Miki just plain old "Miki" to his face? I'm not so knowledgable on Japanese honorifics and such.

Dear Lord, do you think while Kozue was doing Akio she called him "big brother" and out of habit he called her "little sister" ?

Re: Let's Play! Utena, Round 3: The Path Before Us Has Been Prepared

This post is full of win! The "big brother" comment was the best but I am still greatly amused by the fact that D-ko had a "rebellious phase" What do you think she did besides come home late? This is D-ko we're talking about!

Re: Let's Play! Utena, Round 3: The Path Before Us Has Been Prepared

Ruggahissy wrote:

I wonder what that boy must have done to get Kozue so pissed .

Perhaps its another case of this.

If Kozue heard Miki talking to a girl on the other side of a partition, obviously she'd want to scope out the situation immediately. And Kozue wouldn't put up with a guy's attentions out of some sense of obligation, if there's something else she'd rather be doing.

(Also... obviously Kozue likes flaunting the fact that she's having sex to Miki, but she might not want him so close that he can hear it. Especially if she sometimes slips up and says "aniki".)

Alternately, it might just be that the guy she's with has no technique (which is kind of implied in her comparing him to a dog), and she really is fed up with going out with "children." After all, she recently hooked up with Touga, and in the near future she's going to move on to Chigusa and Akio.

Or, likely, all of the above.

EDIT: What's the significance of her calling Miki just plain old "Miki" to his face? I'm not so knowledgable on Japanese honorifics and such.

There's no huge significance, although it's very casual bordering on disrespectful. (And it de-emphasizes their sibling relationship, and that he's nominally older than her.) It's just that I checked the Japanese TV series script to confirm that Kozue is in the habit of calling Miki "aniki," and I figured I'd report my findings.

Dear Lord, do you think while Kozue was doing Akio she called him "big brother" and out of habit he called her "little sister" ?

Luckily, Akio just calls her "Anthy" in private. A horrifying mental image, half-averted.

starstruck335 wrote:

I am still greatly amused by the fact that D-ko had a "rebellious phase" What do you think she did besides come home late? This is D-ko we're talking about!

Maybe she was sent home from school for terrible puns and rampant slippery mamboing.

Re: Let's Play! Utena, Round 3: The Path Before Us Has Been Prepared

I'd like to think that even Kozue wouldn't be so out of wack as to scream "BIG BROTHER! BIG BROTHER!" while coming. Maybe the guy meant that Kozue just likes to harrass and covet Miki's attention a lot. Sure, Kozue tries to be secret, but it's common Ohtori knowledge that Kozue is overpossessive of Miki...

I like the "children" comment at the end. It shows that Kozue considers herself an adult because she claims not to be afraid of sex and the "dirty, corrupt world".

"To copulate is to enter another...and the artist never emerges from herself."-Charles Bauldelaire

Re: Let's Play! Utena, Round 3: The Path Before Us Has Been Prepared

Nights1stStar wrote:

I'd like to think that even Kozue wouldn't be so out of wack as to scream "BIG BROTHER! BIG BROTHER!" while coming. Maybe the guy meant that Kozue just likes to harrass and covet Miki's attention a lot. Sure, Kozue tries to be secret, but it's common Ohtori knowledge that Kozue is overpossessive of Miki...

Yes, that's definitely a possibility. (Or her "aniki"-yelling tendencies could be a malicious rumor. I'm sure people say a lot of things about "girls like her.") As my ()s indicate, I didn't really know how to interpret the line... and I agree, my reading doesn't seem very Kozue-like.

Either way, it seems like a bit of a non-sequitor on the part of the boy, but he's just upset because she's denying him sex. Speaking of which...

I like the "children" comment at the end. It shows that Kozue considers herself an adult because she claims not to be afraid of sex and the "dirty, corrupt world".

Yeah, and because she controls the sex, rather than letting her sexual desires control her. And if there's anything associated with being "adult" in SKU, it's using sexual politics to control other people.

Re: Let's Play! Utena, Round 3: The Path Before Us Has Been Prepared

Our foot is suddenly much better, so let's go walk all over town!

D-ko:Well, it looks like I won't be able to go visit all the clubs...Soon I'm going to need to go shopping.I have gym class tomorrow, so I have to buy some exercise clothes.But, where's the sporting goods store...?It would be best if I consulted with someone...Ah, that's it!Chigusa-san also just came here, so surely she's going to need to buy exercise clothes as well.And if she lived here before, she's got to know where the store is.Yeah, I should go with Chigusa-san!

D-ko:Oh, there she is! Chigusa-san!Chigusa-san, wait up!

Chigusa:Ah, it's you.What is it?

D-ko:Oh, um...Tomorrow we have gym class, right?I thought that maybe we could go together to buy exercise clothes and towels and stuff?

Chigusa:Oh...? Why me?

D-ko:Well, because I don't know where the sporting goods store is,and I thought that if you used to live here, you must know the layout of the town, right?And since it's been three years, I thought you might not be prepared for gym class either.

Chigusa:Okay, got it.

D-ko:Thanks, Chigusa-san!

D-ko:Ah, here we are!This is a pretty big place, huh?

Chigusa:Hmm, you're right... but in the past, this big store didn't used to be here.

D-ko:Yeah... unlike me, you've lived here for a long time, right?

Chigusa:Yes. From long ago.

D-ko:For some reason, her eyes look distant...Chigusa-san is a mysterious person, isn't she?Even though she came shopping with me like this...I don't know one thing about her.Does she have siblings?What illness did she have?What hobbies does she have?Does she have a boyfriend?I want to ask her more questions. I want to talk with her...

CHOICE:Ask about her illness (-1 CHIGUSA)Ask if she has a girlfriendAsk if she has a boyfriend (+1 CHIGUSA)

You know, D-ko, there are all kinds of gender-neutral ways you could phrase that question. "Are you going out with anyone," or "Is there someone you like," to name a few. Oh, well.

D-ko:Chigusa-san, do you have a boyfriend or anything?

Chigusa:A boyfriend? Not a girlfriend?

D-ko:I, I mean...

Chigusa:I get asked that a lot.Because I look like a boy.

Chigusa:I don't mean to boast, but I receive a lot of love letters.However, I've never gotten even one from a boy.

D-ko:U, oh, really...?

Chigusa:Yes. (To me, nobody...)

D-ko:(Chigusa-san... does that bother you?Maybe I just heard something painful...)

Cheer up, Chigusa. You might not get love letters from boys, but you do get hot makeouts with Kozue, so all in all I'd say you're coming out ahead.

+1 CHIGUSA

D-ko:Thanks for coming shopping with me.

Chigusa:Not at all, it was my pleasure.Well then, I'll be taking off here.

D-ko:What should I do...I want to walk around town with her a little more, but...

Chigusa:Oh? By chance, is it the Student Council President or someone?

D-ko:Huh? Touga-san? Why him?

Chigusa:Oh, no particular reason.I just thought that the athletic Student Council Presidentwas a likely candidate.

D-ko:Oh, well... I guess so.Why Touga-san in particular?Come to think of it,Chigusa-san was at this school three years ago, right?Doesn't that mean she was Touga-san's classmate?Did something happen back then...?

+1 CHIGUSA again. The balance is restored.

D-ko:Alright... I'm done shopping, so what should I do now?I'm kind of tired from walking around everywhere,so maybe I should head to one of the stores.Hmmm... where should I go?

Alright guys, it's time for an honest-to-goodness vote! Please choose one of the three places we haven't visited yet. (We did go to the Game Center in the first playthrough, but that was for the second city choice, not the first.)

Re: Let's Play! Utena, Round 3: The Path Before Us Has Been Prepared

Classical Music Cafe please!

Aw, man, I missed all the Kozue analysis. D: But I looove that part.. and I can see either possibility for Kozue. One of the screenshots isn't showing up for me though so I can't tell if Kozue saw Miki first or not.. if it was obvious to the boy that she was ditching him to check out Miki, then it was probably just that, but if he didn't notice, then maybe it is referring to what she says during sex.. Oh my. I like this new semi-canon piece of information.